Use of nonwoven linings for luggage,musical cases and the like



Oct. 20, 1970 A. l. POSNER 3,534,852

USE OF NONWOVER LININGS FOR LUGGAGE, MUSICAL CASES AND THE LIKE FiledMay 16, 1968 v I NEEDLE PUNCHING APPARATUS INVENTOR ABRAHAM I. POSNE RUnited States Patent 3,534,852 USE OF NONWOVEN LININGS FOR LUGGAGE,MUSICAL CASES AND THE LIKE Abraham I. Posner, Spring Valley, N.Y.,assignor to Diamond Shamrock Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporationof Delaware Continuation-impart of abandoned application Ser. No.483,140, Aug. 27, 1965. This application May 16, 1968, Ser. No. 729,713

Int. Cl. A45c 11/24 US. Cl. 20613 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Inluggage, musical cases and the like which contain linings, the liningsare obtained by uniting, by means of needlepunching, flexiblepolyurethane foam and nonwoven batting.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is acontinuation-impart of copending application Ser. No. 483,140, Posner,filed Aug. 27, 1965, noW abandoned.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to luggage,musical cases and like articles which contain a lining, at least part ofsaid lining being nonwoven fabric structure of flexible polyurethanefoam needlepunched with nonwoven battings of fibers. I-Ieretofore,flexible polyurethane foam needlepunched with nonwoven battings offibers have been employed as garment linings (Canadian Pat. No. 646,875,issued Aug. 14, 1962) and as surgical dressings (Pat. No. 3,122,140,Crowe, Jr., Feb. 25, 1964). It has now been discovered that improvedluggage, musical cases or other containers for packaging items can belined with flexible polyurethane foam which has been needlepunched withnonwoven battings of fibers. In this fashion such lined articles canembrace and protect from damage due to shock fragile items such astoilet articles, scientific instruments, glassware, musical instrumentsand wrist watches. At the same time, a pleasing ornamental textilesurface against which the items can be displayed is provided for. Thissurface is soft and can be dyed and modified in various ways as setforth hereinafter. Because of the manner in which the nonwoven batt isaffixed to the polyurethane, there are no stiff or hard areas as wouldresult where heat lamination or adhesives are employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to further illustrate theinvention, reference is made to the drawings wherein are set forth byway of illustration and example, certain embodiments thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a process for preparing theneedlepunched material used as linings in this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the structure of theneedlepunched material in which the location of the fibers of thenonwoven batting in and through the foam is exaggerated;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a musical case lined with the needlepunchedpolyurethane foam; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference is made to FIG. 1 illustrating the use ofapparatus to prepare linings polyurethane foam needlepunched withnonwoven battings. In FIG. 1 a supply roll 2 of nonwoven batting 4 and asupply roll 6 of flexible 3,534,852 Patented Oct. 20, 1970 polyurethanefoam 8 are mounted so that a layer of nonwoven batting 4 is superposedon a layer of polyurethane foam 8 and the composite is passed throughneedlepunching apparatus 10. The needlepunching apparatus unites the twolayers by forcing some of the fibers of the nonwoven batting 4 topenetrate and pass through the flexible polyurethane foam 8 thus formingthe nonwoven fabric 12. As shown in FIG. 2, bunches or tufts of fibers18 from the nonwoven batting 4 are pushed through perforations made infoam 8 by needles of the needlepunching apparatus 10 and remain afterthe needles are retracted.

The essential elements of the linings disclosed in this invention are(a) a layer of a nonwoven batting of fibers superposed and needlepunchedthrough (b) a layer of polyurethane foam so that some of the fibersremain on the opposite face of the foam. Because of the needlepunchingoperation, some of the fibers from the batting are pushed through theperforations made in the foam by the needles to form bunches or tufts offibers on the opposite side or face of the foam and the bunches offibers which remain on the opposite side of the foam after the needlesare retracted serve to unite and bind the separate layers of batting andfoam together. These structures derive their strength from severalsources. Frictional forces are produced by interfiber entanglementwithin the batting. Further frictional forces are produced by contactsof the fibers against the walls of the perforations in the foam.Likewise the bunches or tufts of fibers on the opposite face of the foamexert frictional forces against the surface of the foam in the vicinityof the perforations. Interfiber entanglement also occurs betweenindividual fibers from different bunches of fibers on the opposite faceof the foam. Such entanglement further strengthens the union between thelayers of batting and foam.

Conventional needlepunching apparatus can be employed in the presentinvention. Such includes the needle looms described on pages 27-30 ofNonwoven Fabrics by Francis M. Buresh (Reinhold Publishing Corp NewYork, NY. 1962). Looms having single or double needle boards may beused. One particular needle loom which can be used is the HunterFiber/Locker Model 16 Needle Felting Machine manufactured by the JamesHunter Machine Company (North Adams, Mass.). Likewise looms havingrotating needles can be used. Rotating needle looms effect a gatheringof fibers or parts thereof from a batting and subject the gatheredfibers or parts thereof to rotary action which orients these fibers intopartly spiral and partly helical yarn-like structures which strengthenand reinforce the batting. Looms having heated needles may be employedwhen battings containing thermoplastic fibers are used. In such cases,the heated needles Weld thermoplastic fibers to other fibers in thebatting or weld the fibers in the batting to the polyurethane foam. Whendesired, layers of flexible polyurethane foam may be placed on theopposite faces of a layer of batting and the resulting compositeneedlepunched in one operation. The composite can then be reversed andneedlepunched on the opposite face if desired. Likewise layers ofbatting can be placed on the opposite faces of a layer of flexiblepolyurethane foam and needlepunched on both sides if de sired.Composites containing a plurality of layers of polyurethane foams andbatting in which alternate layers of batting are superposed on alternatelayers of polyurethane foam, or vice versa, can also be needlepunched tounite the separate layers of batting and foam. The process can becarried out in a continuous fashion if desired.

Fibers which can be employed in the production of battings for use inthis invention include natural, manmade and synthetic fibers such ascotton, wool, silk, jute, sisal, hemp, fur, flax, kapok, rayon,cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate, polyamides such as nylon,polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (Dacron), acrylics such aspolyacrylonitrile, vinyl resins such as copolymers of polyvinyl chlorideand polyvinyl acetate, copolymers of vinylidene chloride and vinylchloride, copolymers of acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride and the like,polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethanes, glass, ceramic,asbestos, protein fibers such as vicara and peanut, blends of thesefibers and the like. When desired, blends of fibers containingthermoplastic fibers can be used and these blends punched with heatedneedles to bond the thermoplastic fibers with other fibers in the blendor with the polyurethane foam. Such thermoplastic fibers includelow-melt polyesters and polyamide fibers, polyvinyl alcohol fibers,polyvinyl chloride fibers, polystyrene fibers, polyolefin fibers and thelike. The length of the fibers employed will depend upon the type andamount of fiber locking desired in the needle punched composite.Generally, long fibers are not used because excessive fiber breakageoccurs during needle punching and production rates are reduced as wellas the quality of the needle punched fabric being produced. Fiberlengths of from 1% to 1 /2 inch are usually used but Wider or narrowranges of fiber lengths can be employed when desired. Other fiberproperties which must be considered in the choice of fibers includecrimp, denier and finish. These properties are usually determined by therequirements of the finished product.

Flexible polyurethane foams which can be peeled by conventional peelerssuch as the Femco circumferential paring machine to thicknesses of about0.034 to about 0.375 inch are employed in the present invention. Peeledfoams having a thickness of about 0.375 inch which are subsequentlycompressed to 0.015 inch can also be used. These are referred to ascompressed foams. Any other thickness of flexible polyurethane foamwhich is suitable for lining purposes can be used. These flexible foamsare polyurethane foams formed by the reaction of polyisocyanates such astolylene diisocyanate with a polyhydroxy material, i.e., an organiccompound having a plurality of reactive terminal hydroxyl groups. Wherethe polyhydroxy material is a polyester having predominantly terminalhydroxyl groups, the resulting flexible polyurethane foam is referred toas a polyester-polyurethane foam. Where the polyhydroxy material is apolyether such as polyalkylene glycol, the resulting flexible foam isreferred to as a polyether-polyurethane foam. The team flexiblepolyurethane foam as used herein encompasses and is generic to allflexible polyurethane foams and includes flexible polyester-polyurethanefoams and flexible polyetherpolyurethane foams.

Flexible polyurethane foams can be produced by generating carbondioxide, e.g., by reaction of water with a polyisocyanate. Additionally,blowing agents such as fluorocarbons, e.g., Freon 11 can be used alongwith carbon dioxide. The gas or vapor is generated while the material tobe foamed is in a plastic state. Generation of the gas results information of bubbles in the plastic mass. As these bubbles expand, cellsare formed and a low density cellular foam structure is obtained. Thefaces of the cells are thin membrane-like films. Some, e.g., about 17%or more of the cell faces rupture during foaming so that some of thecells are interconnected. Such a foam is referred to as an open-celledfoam. The percentage of open cells in the flexible polyurethane foam isnot critical in this invention so long as the hand of the foam issuitable for textile use and provided shrinkage of the foam does notoccur during curing and the flexible foam can be peeled. Whensubstantially all of the membrane-like cell faces are removed, theresulting flexible foam is referred to as a reticulated flexiblepolyurethane foam. Reticulated polyurethane foams are described ingreater detail in US. Pat. No. 3,171,820, Volz, Mar. 2, 1965.

Foamed, open cell cellular flexible polyurethanes of the types describedabove which are useful in the preparation of the nonwoven fabricsdisclosed in this invention are well known in the art. Such cellularflexible polyurethane foams are sometimes referred to as low densityfoams since they contain a minimal weight of the polymer for the volumeoccupied by the mass. Methods for producing these flexible polyurethanefoams such as by use of blowing agents and similar techniques for theincorporation of expanding bubbles of gas or vapor in a plastic mass ofpolyurethane are fully described in the literature. These flexiblepolyurethanes can be prepared by the one-shot, prepolymer or quasiprepolymer procedures.

Polyisocyanates which can be employed in the preparation of flexiblepolyurethane foams for use in this invention include tolylenediisocyanate 2,4; 35% 2.6) tolylene diisocyanate 2,4; 20% 2.6)l,6-hexamethylenediisocyanate (HDI) l,4-tetramethylenediisocyanatehexamethylene diisocyanate 1,10-decamethylenediisocyanate1,S-naphthalenediisocyanate (NDI) cumene-2,4-diisocyanate4-methoxy-l,3-phenylenediisocyanate 4-chloro-1,3-phenylenediisocyanate4-bromo-1,3-phenylenediisocyanate 4-ethoxy-l,3-phenylenediisocyanate2,4-diisocyanatodiphenylether diphenyl methane-4,4-diisocyanate (MDI) 5,6-dimethyl- 1,3-phenylenediisocyanate2,4-dimethyl-1,3-phenylenediisocyanate 4-isopropyl-1,3-phenylenediisocyanate 4,4diisocyanatodiphenylether benzidinediisocyanateo-nitrobenzidene diisocyanate 4,6-dimethyl-l,3-phenylenediisocyanate9,lO-anthracenediisocyanate 4,4-diisocyanatodibenzyl3,3-dimethyl-4,4'-diisocyanatodiphenylmethane2,6-dimethyl-4,4'-diisocyanatodiphenyl 2,4-diisocyanatostilbene4,4'-diphenyl diisocyanate (XDI) 3,3-dimethyl-4,4'-diphenyl diisocyanate(TODI) 3,3-dimethoxy-4,4-diphenyl diisocyanate (DADI)1,4-anthracenediisocyanate mesitylene diisocyanate durylene diisocyanate2,5-fluorenediisocyanate 1,8-napthalenediisocyanate2,6-diisocyanatobenzofuran and the like.

Polyesters which can be reacted with olyisocyanates to prepare flexiblepolyester-polyurethane foams for use in this invention include thosepolyesters formed by reacting organic aliphatic, cycloaliphatic oraromatic dior polycarboxylic acids, or their ester forming derivativesthereof such as anhydrides, acid halides and the like with polyols.These hydroxyl terminated polyesters must have at least two terminalhydroxyl groups. They may also be prepared by known transesterificationmethods. These polyesters may have molecular Weights of from about 1000to 5000 and preferably about 1500 to 3000. Acids useful for preparingsuch polyesters include maleic, azelaic, itaconic, citraconic, succinic,adipic, suberic, sebacic, o-phthalic, isophthalic, terephthalic andhexahydroterephthalic acids, their anhydrides and the alkyl unsaturatedand halogen substituted derivatives of these acids as well as theirhomologues. Other typical acids include hydroxy acids containing from 15to 20 carbon atoms such as hydroxy palmitic acids, hydroxy stearicacids, ricinoleic acid and the like. Other dibasic acids include dimeracids such as the dimerized unsaturated acids chosen from theoctadecadienoic acids preferably from the 9,12-octadecadienoic acid(linoleic acid) to form dilinoleic acids. The dilinoleic acids areprepared by the Diels-Adler reaction. Glycols which can be used in thepreparation of polyesters include ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol,triethylene glycol, 1,4-butylene glycol, 1,6-hexanediol, their mixturesand the like. If desired, the polyester may be prepared using smallamounts of a polyol containing three or more hydroxyl groups such asglycerol, trimethylolethane, trirnethylolpropane, 1,2,6- hexanetriol,pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol, tripentaerythritol, sorbitol and thelike provided the polyester gives a flexible polyurethane foam.

Polyethers can be reacted with polyisocyanates to prepare flexiblepolyether-polyurethane foams for use in the present invention. Usefulpolyethers are described as follows. Individual polyethers having afunctionality of two or more can be used. That is, polyethers which arediols, triols, tetrols, etc., can be used alone or in admixture witheach other. The polyethers generally have an equivalent weight ofbetween about 300 and 2000. Alternatively, there can be added to adifunctional polyether, a low molecular weight polyol or mixturesthereof having at least three hydroxyl groups such as glycerol,trimethylolethane, trimethylol-propane, 1,2,6-hexanetriol,pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol, tripentaerythritol, sorbitol and thelike.

Examples of difunctional polyethers which can be used in mixturesinclude polyoxypropylene glycols of molecular weights of 400, 750, 1200,2000, 4000 and block polymers of polyoxyethylene and polyoxypropyleneglycols having molecular weights of 400 to 4,000 such as the Pluronicsof Wyandotte Chemical Corp. These block polymers can be prepared by thesequential addition of ethylene oxide to polyoxypropylene glycols. Theycan be represented by the formula The molecular weight of the base,i.e., the polyoxypropylene portion of the monomer can vary, e.g., fromabout 600 to 2500. Hence, in these instances b in the above formula canvary from about to 43. The oxyethylene content can vary from, e.g., 10%to by weight of the total. Exemplary of these materials are materialshaving a molecular weight of between 801 and 1000 for base portion ofthe molecule, i.e., the polyoxypropylene portion, and from 10% to 20% ofethylene oxide in the molecule; materials having a molecular weight ofbetween 1501 and 1800 for the base portion of the molecule and from 10%to 20% by weight of ethylene oxide in the molecule and materials havinga molecular weight of between 2101 and 2500 and having from 10% to 20%by weight of ethylene oxide in the molecule.

Other useful materials which are commercially available, are thetrifu'nctional glycerol-propylene oxide adducts, e.g., glycerolcondensed with up to moles of propylene oxide. When ethylene oxide orpropylene oxide is added on to glycerol, trimethylolethane,trimethylolpropane, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, pentaerythritol,dipentaerythritol, tripentaerythritol, sorbitol and the like, to preparethe polyol, the resulting condensates preferably have molecular weightsof about 700 to 4000.

As examples of suitable catalysts which can be used in the preparationof flexible polyurethane foams, there may be mentioned various tertiaryamine compounds such as Nethyl morpholine, N-methyl morpholine, diethylethanolamine, triethylene diamine, dimethyl hexadecyl tertiary amine,triethylamine and the like. Other reaction accelerators which may beused in polyether polyurethane foams include stannous octoate, stannousoleate, dibutyl tin oxide, dibutyl tin dilaurate and the like.

Emulsifiers can be used in the preparation of polyesterpolyurethaneinclude sulfonated castor oil, sulfonated natural oils, amine esters offatty acids such as prepared from oleic acid and diethyl amine, ethyleneoxide condensates of sorbitol esters of fatty acids, phenols and thelike may be used. Emulsifiers which can be used in polyetherpolyurethanefoams include silicone surfactants such as block copolymers from atrialkoxy polysiloxane and a polyoxyethyleneoxypropylene monoalkyl etherof the type described in US. Pat. No. 2,834,748, Bailey et al., May 13,1958.

The needlepunched foam 12 can be printed, dyed, flocked, calendered,napped or sheared on side 14 to imitate pile fabrics, and the like.

It is of course to be understood that the preceding descriptions offlexible polyurethane foams and of nonwoven battings are merelyexemplary and this invention is not to be construed as being limited toonly the disclosed flexible polyurethane foams and nonwoven battings.That is, this invention can make use of any flexible polyurethane foamand any nonwoven batting.

The needlepunched polyurethane foams described above, preferablyneedlepunched with nonwoven battings of fibers on one side, are then cutand fitted as linings to the luggage, musical cases and the like asshown in FIG. 3. Conventional adhesives are used to permanently affixthe lining to the article to be lined, such as rubber based adhesiveswhich contain natural or synthetic rubbers, synthetic polymer basedadhesives such as polyvinyl acetate based adhesives and polyurethaneadhesives. The adhesives are applied by coating with adhesive the insideof the article to be lined and/or the back side of the needlepunchedpolyurethane foam, i.e., the side on which tufts 18 are located. Theresulting articles when in a closed position are excellent carriers offragile items and when in an opened position are pleasing to the eye andhence can serve as display cases for the articles contained therein.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a guitar case 20 lined withneedlepunched foam 12 which is affixed to case 20 by adhesive 19. Aguitar 22 is shown in dotdash lines positioned in case 20. Side 14 ofthe needlepunched foam 12 is exposed for viewing and for protectingguitar 22.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of this invention,reference may be made to the following examples which are given merelyto illustrate the invention and are not to be construed in a limitingsense.

EXAMPLE I This example is directed to the preparation of apolyester-polyurethane foam.

100 parts by weight of a polyester prepared from. 55.3 parts by weightof adipic acid, 43.8 parts 'by weight of diethylene glycol and 0.89 partby weight of trimethylol propane held at a temperature of 22 C., 47parts by weight of tolylene diisocyanate 2,4-, 20% 2,6-), held at atemperature of 18 C., and 9.2 parts by weight of an activator mixture asdescribed below held at a temperature of 18 C., were all broughttogether using the mixing apparatus described in FIG. 4 of US. Pat.2,764,565, Hoppe et 21]., Sept. 25, 1956. The activator mixtureconsisted of 3.7 parts by weight of water, 1.5 parts by weight ofN-ethyl morpholine, 2.0 parts by weight of N-lauryl morpholine, 1.0 partby weight of diethanolamine o-leate and 1.0 part by weight ofsulphonated castor oil. The foam rose and set in about 6 to 8 minutes.Thereafter, the foam was cut into buns and the buns were cured byallowing same to stand for twenty-four hours prior to peeling. The foamdensity was about 1.8 lbs. per cubic foot. The resulting cured foam waspeeled to produce a layer of polyurethane foam (slab stock) having athickness of 0.093 inch. Likewise layers of the same polyurethane foamhaving thicknesses from 0.034 to 0.375 inch were prepared.

EXAMPLE II This example is directed to the preparation of apolyetherpolyurethane foam.

parts by weight of a polyol (polyether triol), which was a polypropyleneadduct of glycerol having a final molecular weight of about 3000, heldat 25 C., 48 parts by weight of tolylene diisocyanate (80% 2,4-, 20%2,6-)

held at a temperature of 18 C., 3.90 parts by weight of catalyst systemNo. 1 as described below held at a temperature of C., 0.70 part byweight of catalyst system 8 depending on the thickness of the compositebeing needlepunched. The number of needle penetrations per square inchemployed in these examples was 240.

TABLE I Thickness Weight of Example Type of of foam, Type of batting, No. foam inch batting 0z./sq. yd. Remarks III Polyester. 0. 034 Polyester4 IV .do.. 040 do. 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Heat laminatable foam was used. 2Double layer of foam (0.186 in.) was used. 4 A layer of reticulated foamwas placed between two layers of batting and needle punched on bothsides.

A layer of team was placed between two layers of batting and needlepunched on both sides.

This was a 0.375 inch peeled foam which was compressed to a thickness of0.015 inch.

No. 2 as described below held at a temperature of 30 C. and 1.50 partsby weight of a silicone surfactant which is a block copolymer from atrialkoxy polysiloxane and a polyoxyethyleneoxypropylene monoalkyl etherof the type described in Example 1(a) of US. Pat. No. 2,834,748, Baileyet al., May 13, 1958, held at a temperature of C. were brought togetherusing the mixing apparatus described in FIG. 4 of US. Pat. 2,764,565,Hoppe et al., Sept. 25, 1956. Catalyst system No. 1 consisted of 3.80parts by weight of'water and 0.1 part by weight of triethylene diamineand catalyst system No. 2 consisted of 0.35 part by weight of dioctylphthalate (a diluent) and 0.35 part by weight stannous octoate. The foamrose and set in about 4 to 8 minutes. Thereafter, the foam was cut intobuns and the buns were cured by allowing same to stand for twenty-fourhours prior to peeling. The foam density was about 1.4 lbs. per cubicfoot. The resulting foam was peeled to produce layers of polyurethanefoams having thicknesses from 0.034 to 0.375 inch.

Examples III to XIX (inclusive) which are set forth in Table I werecarried out using the following procedure. First, a layer of nonwovenbatting and a layer of flexible polyurethane foam were brought togetherby superposing the batt on the polyurethane foam. The battings werecomposed of crimped polyester fibers of 3.0 denier and inch stable.Then, the two layers were passed into a needlepunching machine whereinfibers of the batt were needlepunched through the polyurethane foam. AHunter Model 9 Needle Felting Machine having barbed needles No. 151832was used. Needle penetration in the following examples ranged from /8inch to /8 inch in depth What is claimed is:

1. In luggage, musical cases and like articles which contain a lining,the improvement comprising said lining being at least in part a unitarynonwoven fabric structure having at least two layers comprising a layerof nonwoven batting composed of fibers superposed on a layer of flexiblepolyurethane foam having a thickness of from about 0.015 inch to about0.375 inch, said batting and said foam being united solely by thepresence of some of said fibers extending through said foam therebyforming bunches of fibers on the opposite side of said foam.

2. The article of claim 1 wherein said foam is flexible polyetherpolyurethane foam.

3. The article of claim 1 wherein said foam is flexible polyesterpolyurethane foam.

4. The article of claim 1 wherein said article is luggage.

5. The article of claim 1 wherein said article is a musical case.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,181,693 5/1965 Freistat 206133,313,382 4/1967 Rosing et al. 53 3,352,739 11/1967 Blue 2872.2

FOREIGN PATENTS 646,875 8/ 1962 Canada.

ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner R. H. CRISS, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

